Communications

Staff

Contact us

People. Policy. Place Seminars

Northern Institute manage a ‘People Policy Place’ (PPP) Seminar Series that has been running successfully since the launch of the Northern Institute in 2010. These seminars are attended by academic staff, university students, NT & local government and non-government organisations, local businesses, indigenous and industry representatives, and interested members of public.

Our PPP seminars are held in our large meeting room (Savanna Room Yellow 1.2.48) at Northern Institute, CDU Casuarina campus and are generally 30-45mins long followed by a Q&A session with the audience. The seminars can be viewed live via Cisco WebEx if you are unable to attend in person. Seminars are also video recorded and uploaded to our Vimeo channel.

If you would like to present a seminar or would like to recommend someone to present please contact the NI Partnerships Coordinator, Katrina Britnell on telephone 8946 7468 or katrina.britnell@cdu.edu.au. We welcome your suggestions!

TITLE & PRESENTER

DATE

PRESENTATION

EVENT RECORDING

Multimedia-based Promotion Strategy of Northern Territory International Education in China and Chinese Students Studying in the Northern TerritoryAs the third biggest export industry in Australia, international education generates more than $20 billion dollars annually and with some 46000 students studying in Australia (Dodd 2016), Chinese students tend to be the single most important group of students contributing to this revenue stream for Australia. The Northern Territory Government is seeking to capitalise on this burgeoning market and is seeking ways to engage with Chinese students to alert them to the opportunities available to them for Study in the NT. This project has examined the various multi-media options that exist for StudyNT to engage and analyses both the opportunities and the pitfalls of using these platforms for promoting education in the NT.

14 December 2017 @ 3.00PM

PDF Uploaded after event

PICS & VIDEO Uploaded after event

Tim Saul, Head of nbn™ local South Australia and Northern Territory - THIS SEMINAR IS NOW POSTPONED UNTIL A LATER DATE

Short food supply chains in stretched geographiesDr Alexandre Dubois will present the conceptual framework and empirical findings from his ongoing postdoctoral research dealing with the establishment of short food supply chains (SFSC) in the context of the North Swedish context, one of Europe’s most peripheral and sparsely populated regions of Europe. Alex will introduce some insights about the ongoing fieldwork he is undertaking in Mid North South Australia region (Burra-Clare Valley-Southern Flinders Ranges). Alex will also present on the theoretical underpinnings from the debate in economy geography about proximity dynamics that he used to explore the relational processes of formation of SFSC. The use of proximity as a conceptual framework allows distinguishing between spatial (i.e. Euclidean distance) and relational (cognitive, organizational, institutional and social) understandings of emerging producer-consumer relations. Plus how these processes shape how small producers located in remote rural settings establish and develop such shortened relations with consumers.

The unexpected consequences of collaboration: A benefits analysisThe benefits of telehealth in remote Australia have been demonstrated. Uptake of telehealth in the NT has been limited, for a variety of reasons e.g. inadequate access to broadband. Through collaboration between stakeholders, this program has developed/will develop staged implementation at different test sites with solutions based on staffing numbers and remoteness. Program partners, Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory (AMSANT), Broadband for the Bush Alliance (B4BA Ltd), National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO), Indigenous Remote Communications Association (IRCA), eMerge IT, Telstra are working on expanding the uptake of telehealth as well as expanding digital literacy in remote communities. The collaboration continues to strengthen and expand. There have been many learnings along the journey and some unexpected benefits.

A Partnership for German-Australian Research and Research TrainingOur focus is challenges faced by Indigenous organisations and refugee organisations as they work with governments. In a comparative research project we ask how engaging such challenges is linked to the making of regional futures. Our research is part of a wider project comparatively researching democratic participation, a project developing through partnerships with German universities. In focusing on Indigenous and refugee or migrant organizations, we want to broaden participation in democratic institutions, and shape futures in our respective regions; to expand the voices in conversations that decide what matters for our shared futures.This seminar is a contribution to developing a partnership with Ruhr University Bochum (RUB) in Germany. This partnership will involve student exchange between the Northern Institute and the Centre for Anthropological Knowledge in Scientific and Technological Cultures at RUB.

Taking Inspiration from Yolngu Knowledge and Culture Practices to Theorize a Concept of Participation – Asking about the Language Practices of Predication and DesignationThe concept of participation and how we might imagine collective participation as ecological, or more precisely, as techno-ecological: that is my focus. My inspiration, as I struggle to think with and through practices in pursuing a relational ethnography, is my past participations in Yolngu Aboriginal Australian knowledge and culture practices. In particular, it is my experience of participating in the development of a radical mathematics curriculum for Yolngu schools in the 1990s that is my inspiration. Using analogical thinking, this inspiration is mobilized in generating a radically new and different account of the ordinary everyday practices that are common to all languages: the practices of predicating and designating understood as a form of participation. This will involve me in doing some rather arcane philosophy. Before I indulge in that activity (definitely an acquired taste for a social analyst), I explain why I am struggling with this seemingly ridiculous undertaking, when, as every linguist I have ever met asserts, we have a perfectly workable account of designating and predicating already.

“It’s always an adventure”: Parental experiences of disability in the Darwin area Research supports high quality Early Intervention (EI) services for young children with delays and disabilities. While much has been written about the justification for services, and the efficacy of services in regards to patient outcomes, we know much less about how parents and carers interact with EI services and their perception of what constitutes an effective service. With the implementation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, parents and carers will play a bigger role in advocating for the child and selecting the service from the available providers. Given the changing landscape of disability service provision it is timely to ask parents about their interactions with EI services.This research was designed to understand parent (and caregiver) experiences of having a child with disabilities in the Darwin area and the supports and limitations to accessing services. This qualitative research (which is ongoing) has involved the 25 Darwin area parents of children (to date) who either had a diagnosis (e.g. Down syndrome, Autism Spectrum Disorder) or were eligible for Early Intervention services in the Darwin area. Parents and caregivers participated in open-ended interviews about their experiences having a child with additional needs, including the diagnostic process and experiences with education and health providers.Interviews revealed the perceived supports and constraints around access to allied health services and education. This presentation reveals themes that arose across interviews, including parental advice and concerns important for other parents, teachers and clinicians. This research contributes to the literature by supporting a growing understanding of parental perceptions about their child’s services and they ways parents may need additional support.

Colonialism and Race Relations in Remote Inland Australia: Observations from the field of Australian Indigenous StudiesDespite the emergence of decolonizing methods for the conduct of research involving Indigenous peoples since the 1990s, the field of Australian Indigenous Studies remains characterized by the ‘spatial distance’ that exists between professional academic researchers and the Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders over whom they claim knowledge, understanding and ‘expertise’. This seminar is primarily observational and outlines what transpired when I decided to seek a deeper engagement with the Aboriginal community that is the focus of Judd’s research activity. Moving from south eastern Australia to the regional centre of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory this seminar discusses Judd’s efforts to close the spatial distance between researcher and researched through a series of vignettes. As the material outlined in this discussion will suggest; efforts to address the spatial distance proved only partially effective. Yet what emerged from this attempt has been an ongoing engagement with inland remote Australia and a greatly enhanced understanding the complex race relations between the Anangu (Aboriginal) peoples of the region and the non-Aboriginal population as well as the legacy of colonialism and the lingering impact the past continues to exert on the present.

19 October 2017

@ 2.30pm

Lecture Theatre 15.1.01, CDU Alice Springs Campus

PDF is not available

PICS & VIDEO Uploaded after event

Dr. Yuyun Yulia, Vice Rector of Coperation and Public Relation Affair & staff member of the English Language Department of University of Sarjanawiyata Tamansiswa (UST) in Yogyakarta

An Evaluation Of English Language Teaching Programs In Indonesian Junior High Schools In The Yogyakarta ProvinceSince the enactment of Law No. 22/1999, the Indonesian Government has been restructuring its governance system from a centralized to a decentralized system and Serious efforts have been done to strengthen the quality of English teaching in Indonesia, through the enactment of the 2006 School-based Curriculum (Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan) within the framework of communicative competence. The government required all schools in Indonesia to begin implementing this curriculum in 2010. Since the implementation of the 2006 curriculum, there has been no evaluation regarding its implementation (Liputan6.com). This evaluation study focused on case studies of 12 selected schools of the 504 junior high schools in the province of Yogyakarta. The selection was done through systematic sampling – a modified form of a simple random sampling in a systematic way (Kemper et al., 2003; Cohen, et al., 2007; Gay et al., 2009). Documentation, survey schedules, interviews, focus group discussions and class observation were used to gather the data. The data obtained through this research strategy were analyzed through SPSS statistical analysis, content analysis and data triangulation. The results show that decentralization in education created challenges such as the lack of capacity at local level to assume responsibilities from the central government and the ‘culture’ of conditioning individuals to follow orders from the top, implementing rather than initiating or designing policy. The disjuncture between the district level and the individual schools is resulting in role confusion among district staff and individual schools. The head of the District Education Office seemed only to rubberstamp the guiding school documents (curriculum, syllabus, and lesson plans) without any serious appraisal. The assessment and supervision of teachers rarely occurred and in-service training for teachers was lacking and, in any case, seemed not to impact on teachers’ performance in the classroom due to lack of monitoring and supervision from either principal or district supervisor.

Trans in the Top End: Sistergirls, brotherboys, and transgender people living in Australia’s Northern Territory This presentation delivers the findings of a three-year research project conducted by the author into the lives of transgender and sex/gender diverse people living in the Northern Territory as well as transgender and sex/gender diverse Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people, also known as sistergirls and brotherboys. Since the 1970s, research has been conducted on trans Australians, however, these two populations are often overlooked. Trans Territorians and sistergirls and brotherboys experience issues which may not be significantly distinct from those living elsewhere, however, these issues are aggravated by geographic and demographic factors as well as life in remote Aboriginal communities. More broadly, this research reveals insight into the lives of all trans Australians who live outside the urban centres of the south-east corner. This paper cannot cover all the issues raised by trans Territorians and sistergirls and brotherboys, instead it focuses on several key problem areas. The first is social isolation, which can take the form of lack of peer support and difficulties with dating. A second problem for trans Territorians and sistergirls and brotherboys is access to health care. This is not only because of the distances involved but also because staff are either transitory and/or know little about trans issues. In addition to the social isolation and difficulties accessing health care, sistergirls and brotherboys also face problems because they are trans and Aboriginal; including racism within trans communities and transphobia within Aboriginal communities, which often takes the form of violence, murder, and the ‘custom’ of payback.

THIS SEMINAR HAS BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES. WE APOLOGISE FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE CAUSED.

Powerful language for educationally marginalised students: Developing a subversive pedagogy for the language and literacy of scienceIn this seminar I present the research I have been conducting with Bronwyn Parkin from the University of Adelaide, for a project titled ‘Scaffolding academic language and literacy in disadvantaged contexts’. The project is supported by a grant from the Primary English Teaching Association of Australia (PETAA). The aim of our project is to articulate a set of pedagogic principles for teaching language and literacy in science and mathematics to educationally marginalised students. It has involved collaborating with four highly skilled teachers in two schools: one, a remote Indigenous Northern Territory School, and the other, an urban Adelaide school with a low socioeconomic multicultural demographic. A key tenet of our work is that gaining control of subject-specific language, or ‘power language’ as Jim Martin calls it, is fundamental to successful learning at school. The term ‘subversive’ in my title is drawn from Martin’s interpretation of Bernstein’s educational sociology and refers to the intention to challenge the social order by making powerful language and knowledge explicit to those who would not otherwise be able to access this knowledge and language. In our project we worked with the teachers to develop a pedagogic framework that enables this. Two important elements of this framework are: (i) systematically using teacher-designed focus texts as a pivotal tool to guide the scope and sequence of the teaching; and (ii) developing a scaffolded teaching sequence for integrating language and literacy into the science lessons. In this presentation I will focus on one of the science teaching sequences, about lunar eclipses, that we devised in the course of the project, working with Year 7 ESL students. I will draw on transcribed extracts from the lessons to demonstrate the students’ appropriation of scientific language.

Dr. Fernando Serrano-Amaya, Thomas and Ethel Mary Ewing Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Education and Social Work, The University of Sydney

Pedagogies of reconciliation: challenging social injustice and forging new social pactsIn this paper, I will present the first stage of a research project on the teaching of reconciliation. The purposes of this project are (a) to map the educational practices currently used to support reconciliation, focussing on the cases of South Africa and Latin America; (b) to develop a conceptual analysis of reconciliation as education, building on contemporary work in peace education; (c) to develop a framework for policy development in this field. Two specific features of this project will distinguish it from previous work on peace and education. First, it will take forward the emphasis in my previous research on the gender dimension in social conflict and peacemaking. Second, the project will involve a comparison between two important cases of reconciliation projects which are well known, but rarely considered together: South Africa and Colombia. Reflection on Australia´s experience on promoting reconciliation will be useful to test some of the patterns found in the two cases studies.

Professor Dany Adone, Head of School of Modern Languages and Cultures, Head of English Department 1, Chair of Applied LinguisticsDirector of the Centre for Australian Studies (Linguistics), University of Cologne, Germany

Seminar 01: Not Just Bilingualism!While most studies on bilingualism concentrate on the use of two or more spoken languages (speech), studies on Bimodal Bilingualism (speech-sign) are rare. The term ‘Bimodal Bilingualism’ is used for the use of two or more languages in two modalities (spoken and signed). Although Bilingualism in Indigenous Australia has been studied, ‘Bimodal Bilingualism’ which is the norm in Arnhem Land, is still not well known. Thus, this paper is a contribution to raising public awareness on this phenomenon which is rare in the world and yet culturally anchored in Indigenous Australia.

Seminar 02: “What are Alternate Sign Languages? Well…they are Languages in their own right”Recent development in the field of Sign Languages reveals different types of sign languages. One type is known as alternate sign language, which has been identified in Indigenous Australia and outside Australia (Kendon 1988, Adone and Maypilama 2014, among others). The main aim of this paper is to raise public awareness on this are of research. First, it addresses some current misconceptions on sign languages. It then presents some useful definitions, especially of ‘alternate sign languages’ , followed by a discussion of the prominent grammatical features that make alternate sign languages distinct.

01 September 2017

Seminar 01

@ 10.00am

Seminar 02

@ 11.15am

For cultural reasons this event was not recorded & the powerpoint will not be shared.

In 2016 Professor Wallace became the first female Australian researcher to be awarded a Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Agriculture and Life Sciences – one of the most prestigious appointments in the Fulbright Scholar Program. In this seminar Professor Wallace will present about her experience after spending 6 months (January-July 2017) at Kansas State University.

What do we know about evaluation in Indigenous higher education contexts in Australia?The Review of Higher Education Access and Outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People (2012)provided a clear mandate for investing in policies and programs that support Indigenous pathways, participation and achievement in higher education in Australia. While there have been notable investments and significant national reforms in Indigenous higher education over the past few years, the recommendation within this report to develop a monitoring and evaluation framework is yet to be actioned. Similarly, there is scant publicly available evaluation evidence about the effectiveness of program and policy investments in this space. In parallel, both the Productivity Commission and Australian Government have emphasised the importance of strengthening evaluation in Indigenous program and policy contexts across Australia. Bringing these two national conversations together, this presentation will examine what we currently know about evaluation in Indigenous higher education contexts in Australia. It is based on qualitative research project currently being conducted through the Office of Pro Vice Chancellor – Indigenous Leadership at Charles Darwin University. This has been funded through the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education. Human research ethics approval has been obtained. It will draw on empirical evidence derived from individual interviews with two participant groups - (a) Indigenous leaders and scholars within higher education institutions; and (b) government policy-makers with a role in equity and/or Indigenous higher education program and policy development and reform. Narratives from individual interviews with these two participant groups will be compared and contrasted to identify key themes and areas for improvement. Findings will be used to discuss the challenges and opportunities associated with building evaluation capital in Indigenous higher education contexts in Australia. Feedback will also be sought in relation to the development of tools and resources to guide enhanced evaluation practice in this space.

Justification statementThis nationally significant research provides direction in relation to strengthening evaluation in Indigenous higher education contexts in Australia. It relates to using evaluation evidence more effectively and positioning Indigenous practitioners as the leaders of Indigenous evaluation work. It responds to a number of national reviews and policies relating to Indigenous higher education and/or programs. It explicitly relates to the ‘build systems’, ‘use findings’ and ‘diverse identities’ sub-themes.

The Gentle Breeze in the Mountains: An introduction to Taiwanese Indigenous culture, art and musicEtan Pavavalung is an Indigenous Paiwanese (one of 16 Indigenous tribes) artist from Taiwan. He shares the name “Etan” with his maternal grandfather. It means “brave.” Pavavalung is the family name from his paternal line. He was born in Tjavaran tribal village in the mountains in Pingtung county. This village belongs to the Ravar ethnic group. Tjavaran in Paiwanese means “a land of being created.” Mountain Tjaivuvu and Tjavaran River have considerable cultural significance. They create not only sources of food but also represent major sources of language, culture & art for those in the Tjavaran tribal village. It is these sources that are the inspiration for the content of the presentation.This presentation will open with an introduction to Taiwanese indigenous peoples. A brief discussion of the origins of the twin pipe nose/mouth flute will be followed by a documentary about this unique instrument. Etan will then present a selection of nose flute music & Indigenous folk songs. A discussion of the origins & meanings of these songs will serve to provide a more in-depth overview of Paiwanese culture & its expression in music and art. The presentation will close with a discussion of how Etan’s art work evolved to capture the essence of Paiwanese cultural connections to their mountain homelands in the context of their relocation to lowland areas in Taiwan. The presentation will include examples of Etan’s art work that are being exhibited at the Darwin Festival.

‘Detoxing the DNA of Education Delivery - Reversing the Value Chain of Universities’The output, outcome and impact of education as a public good is under challenge. The new age Universities have to revisit and redefine the sense of purpose and purpose of serving the social needs and objectives. Though education is a by-product of democratic thinking, education by itself is autocratic. Universities are responsible for regimentation of education delivery and stifling the evolution while Governments through policy politics have paralysed the Innovative, Imagination and Creativity of Education and Educators. The dialogue proposes to deliberate on alternate pathways for New Age Universities to provide Competency Linked Certification and Livelihoods Linked Learning - sharing my life, my dream, my story and my failures as a Social Entrepreneur.

Native Nation (re)Building: From Economics to Community BuildingOriginally conceived as an economic theory to explain why some US Native Nations are successful in managing their affairs within existing US legal and economic structures while others are not, this presentation considers how these theoretical foundations can be applied in social service settings and public policy arenas. The presentation includes examples of this application in several Indigenous contexts where social issues--more so than economic ones--are the central concern.

‘Contested Indian Ocean Regionalisms: The Rise and Return of the Indo-Pacific’ Dictated and driven to a significant extent by the changing dynamics of knowledge-power equations, regional constructions are devised and propagated for a range of purposes - describing economic success, structuring a set of relationships, reproducing a particular vision of (in)security, or organising a specific function, such as to maximise economic cooperation, to minimise insecurity or to fashion a particular form of security architecture. It is argued that there are three competing regional constructions for security (currently in circulation) in the Indian Ocean Region: an Indian Ocean-wide concept, an East Indian Ocean construct and an Indo-Pacific concept. Depending on which construction is selected and adhered to, the place of Australia in the ‘new’ geopolitics and geoeconomics of the current world order is similarly hotly contested. In this paper’s conclusions, it is suggested that there exists an overriding narrative in favour of an ‘Indo-Pacific’ construction at the expense of certain Indian Ocean concepts.This research is part of a much larger project entitled ‘Building an Indian Ocean Region’ DP 120101066, which is funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Projects Scheme 2012 – 2017.

Christoph Sperfeldt, PhD Student, Centre for International Governance and Justice (CIGJ)& University Fellow, Charles Darwin University

Sustainable Development and Legal Identity: Promises of Inclusion and Dangers of ExclusionStatelessness and other forms of legal identity problems are a global phenomenon that affects millions of people worldwide. Those who find themselves without a recognised legal identity face daily obstacles resulting from a lack of access to a range of social, political and economic rights and opportunities; all with significant adverse impact on their living conditions. When adopting the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in 2015, the UN General Assembly acknowledged that means to proving legal identity are linked to development outcomes. The SDGs now aspire, under goal 16.9, ‘by 2030 [to] provide legal identity for all including birth registration’. By making the invisible legally visible, the SDGs promise to promote more inclusive development. However, requiring legal identity to enable access to rights and services could have the unintended effect of further excluding some of the most marginalised populations who face serious barriers in obtaining legal identity. Building upon field research among minority groups in Cambodia, this presentation highlights the significance of SDG 16.9 for inclusive development, but also the risks associated with linking development to legal identification. At stake is not just a technocratic exercise of registering populations, but a highly contentious process of tackling identity politics and transforming deeply entrenched social realities.

Indigenous languages are good for your healthParticularly over the last 25 years a good deal of attention has been paid to the retention and revitalization of Indigenous languages. For me the best read of 2009 was chapter 3 of the Social Justice Report: The perilous state of Indigenous languages in Australia (Calma 2009). Amongst other things the question, why preserve Indigenous languages?, is addressed. One part of the answer is improved health: "While Australia lacks research on culture and resilience, we do have longitudinal research data which demonstrates a correlation between strong language and culture in Indigenous homeland communities and positive health outcomes. A ten year study of Indigenous Australians in Central Australia found that 'connectedness to culture, family and land, and opportunities for self-determination' assist in significantly lower morbidity and mortality rates in Homeland residents". I had been aware for some time that the retention and revitalization of Indigenous languages could be beneficial to mental and societal health but was somewhat taken aback by the effects on physical health including reduced risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease (see also Whalen et al. 2016). Language is postulated as core to a people's wellbeing and mental health. Hallett, Chandler and Lalonde (2007) report a clear correlation between youth suicide and lack of conversational knowledge in the native language in British Columbia, Canada. In this paper it will also be demonstrated that learning an Indigenous language can lead to a substantial downturn in racism. For this and other reasons, Indigenous languages are good for your health.

Investigating the role of digital language resource for Australian Indigenous languagesThere are many digital language resources available for the documentation, preservation and promotion of Australian Indigenous languages. Large amounts of money are spent on developing digital technologies for supporting endangered language work, yet little is done on evaluating these tools to identify if they deliver on the promise for which they were funded. The affordances of such resources will vary for different users, so it is important to elicit a range of perspectives, particularly those of the Indigenous owners of the languages. In this research Cathy aims to investigate the role of digital language resources in the ecology of Australian Indigenous languages, with a focus on two resources in which she has been involved in developing. The Living Archive of Aboriginal Languages is a digital collection of endangered literature in Indigenous languages of the Northern Territory, and the Digital Language Shell project is an online learning management system designed to enable Indigenous authorities to teach their language and culture to interested learners using digital tools. This research will explore the use and usefulness of these resources as they come to life in pedagogical and other contexts. The evaluation of these resources will identify some of the implicit assumptions of the different users about language and technologies, and how these can work more productively together.

Cyborg WadeyeSkirting around the seething, Indigenous-majority town of Wadeye in the Northern Territory of Australia is the Blacktip Gas Project: a highly automated network of offshore drilling wells, processing facilities and pipelines owned by multinational interests and built to fuel the electricity demands of Northern Australia. This is the ethnographic setting to explore contemporary overlaps of economic development and neglect, innovation and redundancy, and connections and exclusions. These are treated here not as binary opposites, but as symbiotic forces in the modern era of techno-capitalism.Rather than tropes of production and exploitation, I use the bodily metaphor of the Cyborg to understand this historical era. The cyborg symbolises the blending of human and machine, the colonisation of mind and body by computer, the dominant logic of corporations and government. Beyond categories of class and race, the cyborg also allows us to imagine processes of growth, innovation, redundancy and marginalisation across the whole organism: a precariously employed contractor on the Blacktip project and a jobless resident of Wadeye who is being trained to be ‘work-ready’ may have more in common than is often imagined. In this context, welfare dependency is not a scourge, but a productive outcome of government policy – a method of managing redundancy through acquiescence. The members of Wadeye’s heavy metal gangs are presented here as a troublesome rebellion against these dominant policy strategies, and a transformation of cyborgian agency into something more dangerous and unpredictable.

Dr. Chris Andersen, Professor and Dean (Interim) Faculty of Native Studies, University of Alberta, Canada / Member, Royal Society of Canada's College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists

"...a small part of me is Indigenous, but it's a big part of who I am": on the dynamics of Indigenous identity making and the limits of self-identificationIn Canada's recognition ecosystem, issues of identity and identity politics have risen to the fore in terms of public discussions of Indigeneity. The term "identity" itself, however, conceals a number of different dynamics of social power that are in tension and, in some cases, in direct contrast with one another. Keying off a recent set of debates involving a Canadian literary celebrity, Joseph Boyden, I will explore some these dynamics in the specific context of presenting a relational form of Indigenous selfhood that both centres and discusses the real limitations of self-identification as a nexus of Indigeneity.

How to write for The ConversationKeen to write for The Conversation, but not sure how to go about doing it? During this presentation I’ll talk about: what makes a good article; how to pitch stories ideas effectively; and what it means if your idea gets rejected. We’ll provide some dos and don’ts for writing for a lay audience, and also take you through our editing process.

Professor Liaquat Hossain, Head of Division of Information and Technology, Studies, University of Hong Kong / Honorary Professor, The University of Sydney, Australia / Senior Research Associate in Information Analytics, Lund University, Sweden

Integrated Science for Global Disasters and ResilienceWe live in an increasingly complex world which comprises many layers of micro to macro systems complexity. The solution to complex issues requires an understanding of integrated science linking social, organization, economical, physical, agricultural, media and communications, environmental, engineering as well as medical and health systems disciplines for driving translational research with societal impact locally and globally. In this presentation, Professor Liaquat Hossain will discuss the importance of integrated science for exploring global disasters and resilience. Theoretical and methodological foundations for integrated science and its application to global disasters and resilience will be provided. His studies within the context of disasters such as bush fire, flood and tsunami, disaster medicine and public health preparedness will be discussed. Professor Hossain will also discuss his on-going work in Social Media Surveillance in Ebola Disasters and Dynamic Evolutionary Networks of Digital Disease Surveillance: A Meta-analysis of Ten Years of Research.

Migration against the tide: Case studies from Northern Sweden, South Australia and CroatiaMany small and relatively isolated communities worldwide are suffering from population decline as a result of decreased employment opportunities, outmigration, and a perception that metropolitan areas offer more opportunities. Some of the consequences of these trends on a global scale are ageing rural populations, stagnation of rural areas on an economic and social level, and questionable prospects for positive future developments. However, there are particular groups that migrate to different kinds of rural areas. While some of this rural migration has received attention in the academic literature, still - the full diversity of drivers for rural and particularly outer peripheral migration are not yet well understood. Contemporary theories of migration and mobility may offer some insights into that diversity, but still tend to homogenize rural and remote areas and contemplate on already established reasons for migration to rural areas. The purpose of this research is to explain the diversity of experiences of migrants to depopulating outer peripheral regional areas in three countries in the context of different theories of rural migration. By focusing on rural areas which experience positive migration, although they belong to generally depopulating regions, it is possible to explore whether these ‘unexpected trends’ can be explained solely through set of already existing stereotypes, or it might be interpreted as something different?

Professor Robert Faff, Professor of Finance & Director of Research l UQ Business School, The University of Queensland

"Pitching Research” …to an academic expert – a difficult task made easierIn this paper I build on Faff’s (2015) pitching template framework that provides a succinct and methodical approach to pitching a new research proposal to an academic expert. Notably, I argue that the pitching tool can be used as:1. a research planning tool (e.g. Chang and Wee, 2016; Menzies, Dixon and Rimmer, 2016);2. a research skills development tool (Faff, 2016b);3. a research learning tool (Faff, Ali, et al., 2016; Faff, Wallin, et al., 2016 and Ratiu, 2016);4. a research agenda setting tool (Maxwell, 2017; Nguyen, 2017);5. a research mentoring tool (Faff, Godfrey and Teng, 2016; Ratiu, Faff and Ratiu, 2016);6. a research collaboration tool (Wallin and Spry, 2016);7. research engagement & impact tool (Faff & Kastelle, 2016); and research led teaching tool (Faff, Li, Nguyen & Ye, 2016).Moreover, the current paper provides an update on an extensive array of supplementary online resources. Most notably, to demonstrate that the pitch template is readily adaptable to many fields, a library of completed examples currently spans ONE HUNDRED and FIFTY alternative research areas. Other online materials and support include: web portal (PitchMyResearch.com); YouTube videos; themed pitch days; pitching competitions. Also, this project has been identified as one of 30 Innovations that Inspire across the AACSB network worldwide Business Schools.

Professor Steven Bird, School of Computing and Information Systems, University of Melbourne & Adjunct, Northern Institute, Charles Darwin University

Language Engineering in the FieldWhat is the best that computer science can do for the world's endangered languages and the people who speak them? This question has guided my research and that of my students and colleagues over the last 25 years. It has led to innovations in the documentation, description, and revitalisation of endangered languages, and new ways to learn unwritten languages with the aid of social mobile technologies. I will explain this research program, highlighting the challenges for computer science and linguistics. Then I will present my recent and planned work in designing technologies to help keep Australian Indigenous languages strong, focussing on the Bininj Kunwok community of West Arnhem.

Impact of women empowerment on attitudes towards domestic violenceIn any household, couples compete for decision making power. Women may often come out as ‘losers’ with lower or no decision making power. Male partners may use violence as an unfair advantage to reduce the bargaining power of women by instilling fear in them, so that the women do not compete for decision making power.Domestic violence is often an under reported phenomena, particularly in patriarchal societies where women are more likely to experience it. Domestic violence has both physical as well as psychological damages. It has been linked to poor health outcomes, post-traumatic stress, depression, self-esteem and self-image issues. Victims may often be led to feel they either deserve it or that the nature of its occurrence is trivial. Victims of domestic violence might even justify it based on reasons given to them by their abusers, leading them to accept the cycle of abuse for future generations. Policy makers often focus on empowering women to reduce their vulnerability in society. But what exactly is empowerment?In 2015, the 5th goal of the Sustainable Development Goals highlights the need to ‘Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.’ In its true sense, women empowerment means the ability of women to make choices for themselves. In patriarchal societies, the decision for education or labour force participation of women may be taken by men, hence higher levels of both do not necessarily guarantee higher levels of choice or empowerment for women. Unfortunately, these variables are often used to gauge the empowerment level of women and policy makers focus on these. While they are important, we feel they are woefully inadequate. This is portrayed by the fact that domestic violence exists in all socioeconomic groups, though with differing degrees. To bridge this gap, we construct a novel index using the Pakistan Demographic and Health Surveys 2012-2013 which focuses primarily on the ability of women to make choices and use this as a measure of empowerment. We then use this index to explain the attitudes of women towards spousal violence. We estimate whether an increased degree of empowerment in women makes it less likely for them to accept domestic violence.

1. Marthen Luther Ndoen: Migrants from the Native Lens: Native Relations with Migrants in Papua2. Titi Susilowati Prabawa: Empowering the Natives: Community Participation in Tourism Development in Tutuala, Timor Leste3. Pamerdi Giri Wiloso: Democratization at district level during the Post-Suharto era, Grobogan, Central Java,4. UKSW and its Research Areas: An Introduction for Future Research Collaborations

A history of Aboriginal land use of the Delissaville, Wagait, Larrakia Aboriginal Land Trust.Dr Linda Ford presents on her successful Northern Territory History Grant project which draws together important historical data to provide a comprehensive history of the ways in which Aboriginal people sought to formalise their association for the use of the land. Aboriginal people have a long history of the use of Delissaville, Wagait, Larrakia Aboriginal Land Trust area. This project compiled the history of Aboriginal land use since 1976 when a dispute arose over the claim under Aboriginal Land Rights Act(1976). The project focussed on the White Eagle Aboriginal Corporation in 1985, the subsequent establishment of Twin Hill Aboriginal Corporation in 1997, and the management of Twin Hill Station Cattle Agistment Business in the NT’s Pastoral Industry sector by the Directors and members, Traditional Owner’s: Rak Mak Mak Marranunggu governance and leadership. Of particular interest is the way in which Aboriginal people negotiated within the organisation and externally with government and nongovernment organisations.

Tyikim Language ProjectThis project builds on a previous small grant to develop strategies for language revitalisation programs for Mak Mak Marranunggu and Marrithiyel, two Indigenous Australian languages from the Daly-Wogait region of the Northern Territory that Dr Ford grew up learning and speaking, but for which just a few fully fluent elderly speakers remain. While there has been some academic linguistic work undertaken on Mak Mak Marranungku and Marrithiyel (Tryon 1970, 1974; Green 1980, 1989; Green et al 2016), there is little in the way of designed language education materials, and there has been little research as to what type of approaches to language revitalisation might best suit the socio-cultural contexts and learning styles of the widely dispersed Mak Mak and Marrithiyel communities. Further, there is no established practical orthography, and no tested strategies for effectively discussing abstract linguistic concepts, for example, as would be required to develop dictionaries and pedagogical materials in morphologically complex languages such as these. In this presentation Drs Ford & Green will provide an overview of the language revitalisation challenges faced by the Mak Mak and Marrithiyel communities, and review some of the proposed responses, of both the more traditional and more contemporary technological kind.

Small Nordic settlements: adjusting to change?Across the Nordic region, centralisation to the larger towns and cities is the main demographic trend. Particularly in the sparsely populated areas to the far North, this poses challenges to the small and remote settlements and the municipalities are struggling to provide the public services that they are obliged to provide for the inhabitants, just as the needs for labour force can be difficult to meet. In this seminar, we will discuss both the challenges as well as some of the current policy responses to these.

TeaH “Turn em around healing”: A therapeutic model for working with Indigenous communities and traumatised childrenAre Western Models of therapeutic intervention with children from remote communities appropriate? How do Indigenous people conceptualise the spirit of trauma? This presentation explores these questions and presents a therapeutic model of practice that incorporates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander concepts of healing and spirit within a creative therapeutic framework. Therapeutic intervention utilising Western theoretical models with Indigenous people who live remotely can be highly problematic. This is due to a combination of factors such as; unacknowledged intergenerational trauma, government policies and funding mechanisms, remoteness, biomedical models of practice that sit within a Western paradigm. The historical impact of past legislation, government interventions and an historical legacy of inadequate racist service provision proves a barrier that needs to be acknowledged and addressed prior to any service implementation. This model works on several levels, with the principles of community engagement and capacity building at its core, which enabled the provision of a culturally derived therapeutic intervention that involved a synergy of both Aboriginal and Western based healing practice.

Will Sanders, Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research (CAEPR), ANU

The Community Development Programme: More punitive than enablingThe Community Development Programme, begun in July 2015, is the latest iteration of a Commonwealth government employment and community participation scheme for remote areas. Its focus on daily work-for-the-dole activities is turning out to be more punitive than enabling. Penalties imposed on participants within the scheme are rising rapidly. This is related to heavy participation requirements of five-hours-a-day, five-days-a-week, but also to centralised authority processes linking participant attendance to the funding of providers. By comparison, the Community Development Employment Projects scheme which existed until June 2013 was less punitive and more enabling. Its ‘no work, no pay’ policy was administered locally and used sparingly. Activity requirements were also only 16 hours per week, usually four mornings, which allowed time for other priorities among participants. Funding of providers was also not punitively linked to participant attendance. This seminar will draw on Will’s field observations in the Anmatjere region since 2004 and his policy work since the 1980s.

Providing fertility management options in rural and remote health is challenging. New models of care such as early medical abortion in primary health care settings and telehealth are available in other parts of Australia but not the Northern Territory. Measuring and reporting termination of pregnancy is a public health issue in Australia, and is done imperfectly and irregularly. The national termination of pregnancy rate in 2011 was reported to be 19/ 1000 and falling. Access to quality comprehensive termination of pregnancy care decreases women’s morbidity and mortality, yet remains a contested issue in Australia. There is a closing of the reproductive health gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous women having termination of pregnancy. Nevertheless there are differences in patterns of termination of pregnancy at the younger and older ages. Girls and women are at risk of unwanted and mistimed pregnancy, with young Indigenous girls appearing to be over represented. Public health service provision is high but delivers obsolete health care, impinging women’s reproductive health rights. Current data is imperfect and of limited value to reproductive public health planning. Termination of pregnancy in rural and remote areas is increasingly accessible to Indigenous women. However rural and remote living women seeking TOP are disadvantaged and discriminated against by having to travel long distances and are offered a higher risk procedure due to a lag in legislation reform and policy inertia.3 key messages: 1. Legal impediments to termination of pregnancy should be removed.2. Indigenous and non-Indigenous women have different patterns of termination of pregnancy that need further exploration and explanation.3. Australian women’s reproductive health and rights could be improved by focusing on access and equity in health care.

David Karacsonyi, Geographical Institute of Hungarian Academy of SciencesWhat can be learned from permanent mass displacements? Case of the largest peacetime emergency evacuations in human history: Chernobyl and FukushimaMajor disasters can resulting in mass displacement, one of the most important demographic consequences of such events both for sending and receiving areas. In the case of disasters with long-term environmental impact, and long term displacement demographic shifts can be also permanent. Mass displacements after the nuclear meltdowns as Chernobyl in 1986 and more recently Fukushima in 2011 were the significant permanent emergency evacuation; changing the demographic profiles of entire regions. Displacement generates itself new challenges: relationships, networks and social capital needs to be rebuilt within the community. Thus, mass displacement can easily became itself a secondary disaster. The core analysis was by Geographic Information Systems based on administrative districts using census data. For a more detailed insight mobile phone location data and population registration microdata was used. Interviews were also conducted during field trips both in Fukushima and in Chernobyl to support the results.

New ways for old ceremonies: keeping country and kin alive in the digital age (ARC Project)AIMS: This aim of this research is to develop and implement suitable Indigenous frameworks for the preservation, interpretation and dissemination of recordings of ceremonial performances in the Wagait/Daly region of the Northern Territory of Australia. The focus of the research is a body of recordings documented by early anthropologists and missionaries of the final mortuary ceremonies performed. Dr Ford aim is to preserve and extend the power of this ceremony for the benefit of future generations of Indigenous people and Australia.BACKGROUND/SIGNIFICANCE: Ceremonial performance is a key process for integrating Indigenous knowledge from many different domains, and a socially powerful site of exchange, transmission and transformation of relationship to country and kin. This research aims to extend the power of this ceremony from the present recordings, and to retrace the first written documented records of anthropologists and Jesuit missionaries from 1891 – 1899 and onward.

Health needs of Transgender and Sex/Gender Diverse People in the Northern TerritoryOver the past forty years, considerable research has been undertaking into the lived experiences of transgender and sex/gender diverse (TSGD) Australians. As a result, it is possible to map out several key issues facing TSGD people: namely, economic instability (e.g. unemployment), social exclusion (e.g. poor relationships and estrangement from family), high rates of mental illness, and sexual and physical abuse. Having said that, this picture is incomplete. Rarely, if ever, do these projects include TSGD Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) people (also known as ‘sistergirls’ and ‘brotherboys’) and TSGD Territorians. On those occasions when these groups are included, little is said of the specific issues which impact them. To address the dearth in the literature, Dr Kerry began a research project into the lived experiences of TSGD Territorians (including sistergirls and brotherboys) in 2014. Following an online survey, which acted as a pilot study, Dr Kerry went on to conduct face-to-face interviews with TSGD people across the NT, including the residential centres of Darwin and Alice Springs, as well as remote communities. This seminar presents several key issues which have emerged from the online survey and interviews. TSGD Territorians find it difficult to not only access health services but also medical practitioners who are both knowledgeable of TSGD issues and are trans-friendly. This is especially pertinent for TSGD people in remote communities, thereby impacting on sistergirls and brotherboys the most. Additionally, TSGD Territorians experience social isolation which includes not knowing other TSGD people and difficulties establishing intimate relationships with cisgender people. Furthermore, sistergirls and brotherboys uniquely experience double-discrimination. This takes the form of racism within predominantly white transgender communities and transphobia within traditional communities. Sistergirls and brotherboys may be misgendered when it comes to gender-specific activities (e.g. men’s business or women’s business) and/or experience violence, sexual assault, and murder. These are significant push factors which result in many TSGD Territorians including sistergirls and brotherboys either leaving the NT of taking their own lives.

A presentation on Environmental Policy in 4 parts1. The historical perspective of Environmental Policy2. Market Mechanisms3. International commitment4. Carbon trade

About Rector Professor BenuUndana's Rector, Prof. Ir. Fredrik L. Benu, MSi., Ph.D., received his first degree from UNDANA, second degree from Bogor Agricultural University, and third degree from Curtin University, all in agricultural economics. Before elected as Rector, he was the Director of UNDANA's Research Institute. Earlier, he was a researcher at the Research Center for the Environment and Natural Resources at the university, involved in many environmental impact assessment, responsible for ecosystem and environmental valuation aspect of the assessment. As the current Rector of Undana, he is responsible for directing UNDANA to move forward with the vision set earlier during the term of the preceding Rector, making UNDANA a global oriented university. He believes that to move forward with this vision, UNDANA has to develop a centre of excellence (CoE). Considering the environmental setting and the strength of the university, he decided UNDANA to focus teaching, research, and community services on interdisciplinary aspects of archipelagic dryland. He has just developed the facility necessary to support the CoE and develop cooperation with overseas universities and research institutions within the framework of this CoE, including the cooperation with CDU. Ian addition as being a Rector, he is also a member of Board of Commissioners of East Nusa Tenggara Bank and a reviewer of ACIAR projects in Indonesia.

Northern Institute is proud to bring you this event as part of the Go Digi Pop-Up Darwin Festival (1-3 September).i-Med and i-Vet: Delivering tele-medicine and tele-veterinary services to remote areas in Northern Australia and Indonesia.

Presented by

David Murtagh

Dr Sue Samuelsson

Dr Samantha McMahon

The internet has opened up the ability for practitioners to do virtual consults using a variety of technologies in both the human and animal care industries. David Murtagh will outline the work being done to expand access to TeleHealth and increase digital inclusion in remote NT. Dr Sue Samuelsson (i-Vet) and Dr Samantha McMahon (NTVS) will present about how they service their 4-legged clients in remote areas of the Northern Territory and Indonesia. Refer to attached for presenter information.About Go Digi Pop-Up Darwin Festival: The Go Digi Pop-Up Festival is run as part of the National Year of Digital Inclusion. The Go Digi goal is to help 300,000 Australians improve their digital skills and online confidence and these Pop-Up Festivals are a great way for the community share their digital knowledge.

Fixing problematic apprentice systems: there is never a clean slateDue to their sheer size, economic importance and common sense history, national apprenticeship systems are important to many interest groups in advanced market democracies and provide a site where never-ending contests over control are waged. In particular, the constant shifts in the balance of the ‘who benefits-who pays’ equation reflects contemporary views on the relative roles of the state, private enterprise and the individual citizen. By using a modified version of path dependency theory, two vocational training systems are compared and contrasted in order to demonstrate how the public policy responses to a remarkably similar set of problems have produced very different solutions. The results suggest that while neoliberal ideas might be highly mobile, there are historical and political realities that serve to limit their translation into realistic policy options.

Open Educational Practices in Remote Indigenous Workforce Development; Open for whom, and for what purpose?Workforce development and training programs in remote Northern Territory (NT) communities have been largely inconsistent and unsuccessful. Critical evaluative engagement at the intersection of Open education, workforce development and Indigenous knowledge systems can illustrate dynamics in ‘program delivery;’ the neglected inclusive positioning of the ‘end users’ and the potential for improvements. Conceptualising Open Educational Practices (OEP) and applying this to workforce development and training contexts can offer an opportunity to increase ownership by the communities for which programs are intended. This could ‘open up’ more community-led development of learning in workforce programs that maintain sustainable engagement for participants. Furthermore, this can question the extent to which OEP are ‘open’ to learners’ realities. This study is focussed on an OEP ‘project bundle’ that has been situated in the discourses of remote Indigenous training and workforce development learning via a range of ‘open’ digital practices and aims to refine what is open about these practices in these contexts.

23 August 2016

@ 8.30am

PDF unavailable

This event was not recorded

Dr Margaret Ayre, Senior Research Fellow - Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of MelbourneHonorary Research Associate - Northern Institute, Charles Darwin University

Looking Back to Look Forward: a case study of Aboriginal ranger work in NE Arnhem LandIndigenous rangers play a critical role in the sustainable management of Australia’s conservation and biodiversity estate and represent a significant job sector in Indigenous communities nationally. Over the past twenty years, there has been increased government investment in supporting the burgeoning number of Indigenous ranger programs (currently estimated at 95 groups1) with the aim of achieving multiple social outcomes and biodiversity goals enshrined in Australia’s international commitments (e.g. Convention on Biological Diversity). These Indigenous ranger programs have emerged as a key site of negotiation for Indigenous communities to practice and demonstrate their custodial rights and responsibilities for ‘country’ whilst creating education and training and employment opportunities in partnership arrangements with governments and others. In the development of such partnerships, the role of Indigenous rangers underpins the mutually productive and beneficial translation of Indigenous knowledge and practices of ‘caring for country’ and western-style land and water management.In this seminar, I present collaborative research into a particular case of Yolngu Aboriginal ranger work through the Yolngu organization, the Dhimurru Aboriginal Corporation (Dhimurru), in North-east Arnhem Land. I report on the first stages of a collaborative project involving Dhimurru members, Yolngu land and sea managers and others which aims to identify and understand the key design principles and success factors of Dhimurru’s ranger program and its unique Yolngu Ranger role. In this project, we consider the development of Dhimurru over the past two decades and ask:1. How does Yolngu ranger work contribute to achieving Yolngu aspirations for land and water management?2. What is the ‘value’ of Yolngu ranger work in achieving Dhimurru’s strategic goals for land and water management?

Dr Rabindra Nepal, Lecturer in Economics, CDU Business School, Honorary Fellow - School of Economics, University of QLDResearch Fellow, Development Policy Research Network, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur

Small Energy Markets, Scattered Networks and Regulatory Reforms: The Australian ExperienceThe global experience with regulatory reforms that promote competition in small electricity markets, especially characterized by scattered networks serving low-density load, is limited. We contribute to this knowledge gap by analyzing the reform experience and policy options in Australia’s Northern Territory (NT) market. This market underwent vertical separation and it is now regulated under the national regulatory framework. A virtual wholesale market was created as a stepping stone towards a fuller wholesale market. We find that the new regulatory reforms have improved market transparency and accountability. However, the prospect of lower energy prices to consumers will not materialize in the absence of effective regulation. More private participation in electricity generation and retail in the short-term and intra-regional market integration in the medium term are appropriate policy options as the demand for electricity grows. Market integration can facilitate and not hinder the development of renewable energy. We conclude that reforms in smaller electricity markets such a NT should be geared towards meeting the environmental and de-carbonization objectives from the early stages given the immense potential for tropical leadership in off-grid supply of renewable energy. View Facebook event posting

Beyond hope and despair: laboratories, parliaments, and the limits of democracyHow can Science and Technology Studies (STS) contribute to our understanding of democratic politics? This presentation aims to address this question in three steps. In the first step, I briefly show how STS from the late 1970s onwards can be seen as a series of attempts to politicise science by attending to its located and material practices. Laboratories have played a central role in these attempts, not only as sites where facts as true representations of nature are made, but also as apparatuses that actively participate in the making of a nature-to-be represented. In the second step, I take this STS sensitivity to the realm of democratic politics. Drawing on my PhD thesis, I show how parliaments work both as sites where laws as true representations of society are made and as apparatuses that actively participate in the making of societies-to-be-represented. In these processes of representation, some knowledges are prioritised while others tend to be marginalised or made invisible. In the third step, I highlight three instances - the refugee crisis in Europe, global drug policy, and indigenous politics - where parliaments as apparatuses reach their limits. While from the perspective of political theory these limits might be seen as the shortcomings of parliamentary democracy, with STS I argue that they should be seen as a series of attempts to politicise politics. Taken together, they outline a mode of engaging with contemporary problems that points beyond the false dichotomy of hope and despair.

Research Collaboration & Student Exchange Opportunities with Kansas State UniversityDr. Dorothy (Dottie) Durband is a Professor and the Director of the School of Family Studies and Human Services at Kansas State University. Prior to serving in her current administrative role, she was a professor of Personal Financial Planning, Founding Chair of the Department of Community, Family, and Addiction Services, and Founding Director of the nationally recognized Red to Black® program at Texas Tech University for 14 years. Her work experience includes providing financial counselling and financial education, employee training, special events planning, and fund raising for non-profit organizations. Her focus as an educator has been on teaching courses on money relationships, counselling and communication skills, research fund development and pro bono financial planning. Dottie is an Accredited Financial Counsellor. Durband received the Texas Tech University Chancellor's Council Distinguished Teaching Award- the university’s highest teaching honor. Her research has focused on understanding and describing attributes and behaviours of individuals with regard to their personal finances. Durband is the co- editor of the book Student Financial Literacy: Campus-Based Program Development and is working on a book on integrative evidence-based financial counselling skills for release in 2017. She received a doctorate in resource management from Virginia Tech, a master's degree in Family Studies from Texas Woman's University and a bachelor's degree from Louisiana State University.

SPECIAL EVENT: Growing the Northern Territory’s Wikipedia presenceFor the first time, the president of Wikimedia Australia is coming to Darwin! He’s here to provide a week of training and discussion about Wikipedia and launch a new initiative Wikiclub NT, a series of monthly meet-ups that will create and improve pages about Northern Territory history, people and places. It’s a rare opportunity to find out how to use it for these purposes and more, and why some leading universities, museums, galleries, archives and libraries are so interested in using Wikipedia. Please join us at Northern Institute for an open discussion about Wikipedia. Learn a bit about what W...ikipedia is about, how it works and its potential for the Northern Territory.This event is brought to you in partnership with NT Library & WikiClub NT with special thanks to Caddie Brain.

Aer( )sculpture, an ethereal Art&Science ResearchCreating Art&Nanotechnology artworks leading to journal publications and to Art&Science exhibitions, could also benefit Environmental scientists to observe atmospheric changes in microclimatic conditions as well as Health scientists to improve nanomaterials. Using the diaphanous nanomaterial silica aerogel in Visual Arts and creating clouds into silica aerogel sculptures, could also improve public’s perception for scientific research and make informed decisions regarding climate change and how it affects our everyday behaviours. This interdisciplinary research is breaking silos between Art and Science by reintoducing imagination as a toll of creation, innovation and new economies. Watch Dr Ioannis's Documentary here

Skill Shortages in Regional New South Wales: The Case of the RiverinaSkill shortages are seen as a major issue in the Australian labour market. Despite this, studies examining the causes and effects of such shortages, particularly in rural and regional Australia, are very limited. This is not surprising given that the investigation of such a complex issue requires a wide range of data and information, which is both time- and resource- intensive. The purpose of this study is to help fill this information gap by conducting a preliminary survey to investigate the causes and effects of skill shortages in rural and regional New South Wales (NSW), using the Riverina as a case study. The study also seeks to examine how companies address skill shortages in the short-run and what can be done to overcome this in the long-run. The study is based on a survey of enterprises operating in the Riverina. Employing survey data, empirical models are developed to analyse the importance of firm size, firm age, regional market focus, and location and industry types influencing a series of skill shortage issues. Results indicate that half of businesses experience skill shortages. The consequences of hard-to-fill vacancies vary across firms and relate to lower productivity and higher running costs. A number of strategies are employed to varying degrees by firms including: recruiting internationally, training existing staff and employing less qualified staff to fill vacancies.

The impact of translating and sharing your knowledge with the worldHow can you live in Darwin, while still reaching an influential global audience – from senior politicians in Canberra and beyond, to business leaders, students and teachers?Seismic changes in the media mean that great NT research can now reach more people nationally and internationally than ever before through social and digital media. But you need to know where to start, as well as some tips on what to do when dealing with non-academic media.This presentation with Walkey award-winning journalist and author Liz Minchin will feature:

Success stories involving some of the 47 people from CDU and 11 from Menzies who have written for The Conversation to date – reaching a global audience of 678,000 readers for their articles alone (as of April 2016).

Plus practical tips on successfully pitching article ideas to The Conversation and other news media.

The Conversation is a public-good journalism project helping researchers share their knowledge with millions of readers worldwide (33 million article views in a month, as of April 2016), including via other media such as ABC News, I F****** Love Science and The Washington Post.

Professor Allan Dale, Professor of Tropical Regional Development at The Cairns Institute, James Cook University

Beyond the North-South Culture Wars: Reconciling Northern Australia’s recent past with its futureIncreasingly, Australia’s agriculturalists are looking to the nation’s north to escape the decline in southern Australia’s water and soil resources. Booming mineral and gas development is also helping to drive the nation’s economic success. At the same time, the south’s conservation sector would like to see much of the north preserved as iconic wilderness. Both conservation and resource development interests alike are often at odds with the interests of the north’s traditional owners, many of whom remain trapped in welfare dependency and poverty. Indeed, to the ire of north Australians, the past five decades of north Australian history have indeed been characterized by these national-scale conflicts being played out in regional and local communities.This book explores these conflicts as well as the many emerging opportunities facing the development of the north, suggesting that a strong cultural divide between northern and southern Australia exists; one that needs to be reconciled if the nation as a whole is to benefit from northern development. The author first explores where these historical conflicts could take us without a clear forward agenda. A story-based personal narrative from his long and diverse experience in the north gives life to these themes. Finally, the book then draws on these stories to help shape a cohesive agenda for the north’s future.

POLICY BRIEFING: The NT Aboriginal Affairs Strategy - Direction & Pathways Mr Mike Chiodo, Chief Executive of the Department of Local Government and Community Services and Office of the Aboriginal Affairs will present an overview of the NT Aboriginal Affairs Strategy which is a whole-of-government strategy being implemented by the recently established Office of Aboriginal Affairs. The strategy outlines the direction and pathways to improve the economic and social wellbeing of Aboriginal people in the Territory. It will also support Government in building and maintaining partnerships with Aboriginal people, the business sector and non-government organisations to deliver economic and cultural success.

Persistence and Interruption: Ontological Dynamics and Cultural AnalysisOne might be forgiven the mild joke that Australian Aboriginal cultures are not existentialist. In an obvious way, this is marked by the usual absence of the verb ‘to be’. Being is not the question, making Hamlet’s speech very difficult to translate. Belonging is far more important, and this is often marked by a comitative suffix, like –tjara, meaning ‘having’ or ‘with’. Early French sociologist Gabriel Tarde would have been interested in that difference, as elaborated by Bruno Latour: The verb “to be” cannot capture the grid. In his last book, Psychologie économique (1902), Gabriel Tarde… set us on the right path: everything changes if we agree to choose the verb “to have.” From the verb “to be,” Tarde says, we cannot draw anything interesting that would involve interests, except identity with the self, the “easy way out” of substance; but from the verb “to have,” we could get a whole alternative philosophy, for the good reason that avidity (unlike identity) defines in reversible fashion the being that possesses and the being that is possessed. There is no better definition of any existent whatsoever beyond this list of the other beings through which it must, it can, it seeks to pass… In this sense, we are altered, alienated. It is as though, here again, a philosophy of identity and essence—of being-as-being—had played a trick on us by concealing the avidity, the pleasure, the passion, the concupiscence, the hook, of having and had. This philosophy would have forced us never to confess our attachment to the things capable of giving us properties that we didn’t know we had. (Latour, Modes of Existence, 424-5) Read entire abstract

SPECIAL SCREENING: Sunset EthnographyIn April 2013 I travelled to Broome in the far north-west of Australia with Stephen Muecke and Michael Taussig, two leading authors of 'experimental ethnography.' They held a workshop there to share experiences and develop ideas. The day we arrived in Broome was a day of jubilation as oil and gas company Woodside announced its withdrawal from a controversial proposal to develop a gas processing plant roughly 60kms north of town.Walmadany - the proposed site for the gas plant - is sacred to the Goolarabooloo mob, the indigenous custodians of this land. They were determined to protect the living heritage of their country.Lots of people came to help the cause, including independent scientists. Their dedicated research of whales, and other flora and fauna, contradicted the government and corporate environment reports. The area is of extreme ecological significance. Woodside's withdrawal was a momentous win for the local community and activists who had been passionately fighting the proposal since 2008.Nevertheless, the Western Australian government remains bitterly intent on industrialising the region and has since imposed a compulsory acquisition of Walmadany from its traditional owners. These events form the backdrop to Stephen Muecke's ongoing ethnographic project with the Goolarabooloo people and Michael Taussig's unique journey across Australia.

Towards Good Organisational Policy for Organisational GoodsIt is useful to think about ‘organisational goods’ as distinct from ‘good organisation’ or ‘good organisations’. In the first phrase ‘goods’ is a noun. Goods for society in general; moral principles that we might agree collectively are ‘a good thing’. We might name three such organisational goods as: ‘On-going organisational learning’, ‘Reflexive, emergent organisational knowledge’, and ‘Nurturance of organisational creativity.’ The qualifier, the adjective ‘organisational’ in the phrase, here implies that organizations might effect these goods as outcomes of their collective activity. The implicit question is of course how to organize to make it likely? The orthodox answer is ‘policy’. The problem with that neat answer is that it seems that we can get it sorted, and then not have to worry about it. Get the policy right and things will take care of themselves.In my talk “Towards Good Organisational Policy for Organisational Goods” I’ll delve down into the idea of organizational policy goods and organizational policy work. In asking about policy work, I’ll be attempting to disturb, more like a terrier following the scent of a ripe bone than an archeologist or genealogist.

I’ll suggest that we need to learn to think of the concepts in our policy work as companion concepts. We need to distinguish the definitional work that concepts do from the sensitizing work they also must do

Kansas State University in Australia - Research and Distance EducationK-State's Australia initiative began five years ago with a focus on research and undergraduate student exchanges. Since that time it has grown to include a unique partnership with the Australian-American Fulbright program and membership in the Plant Biosecurity CRC. K-State offers a broad range of distance education classes and degree programs both on its own and in collaboration with other major universities in the United States. Currently we are searching for an Australian partner with complementary interests in this area with whom we could work more closely to bring K-state classes to Australian students and to bring Australian classes to a US audience.

Researching Policy Goods for Australia’s Northern Regions by Professor Helen VerranA ‘policy good’ is an idea that arises out of John Dewey’s writings. It imagines those who are the subject of policy, and subject to it, as in some sense needing to have the capacity to choose those policies. To paraphrase Dewey who developed these ideas when he was working in early twentieth century Chicago immigrant communities with women like Jane Addams: “A good that individuals cannot self-consciously recognize and pursue for themselves is not a good. Humanity cannot be content with a good that is procured from without, however high and otherwise complete that good might be. Humans cannot be forced to be free. A society where good outcomes are given is not one to be preferred to one in which those goods are the result of participation… To foster conditions that widen the horizon of others and give them command of their own powers... is the way of informed social action (aka ‘policy’), otherwise the prayer of those subject to and of policy would be to be left alone, and to be delivered above all from reformers and other kind people.”

'Dreamland. The Figure of the Philosopher in Ethnographic Film’Helen will screen a movie she has worked on with her Norwegian colleagues and discuss what the figure of ‘a philosopher’ adds to ethnographic film. The movie was premiered at the Leeds International Film Festival November, 2015 and in Tromsø in Norway in January 2016. Dreamland: Viewed through the camera lens of a philosopher, it is inspired by a line from “Dreamland” by romantic poet Edgar Allan Poe “...by a route obscure and lonely, haunted by ill angels only…” A journey through people-places in Arctic landscapes is made by the figure of a native anthropologist. She follows in the footsteps of many others, recounting experience. Viewers glimpse moments of a sublime, the subject of Poe’s poem. The movie gives form to hopes for futures different than pasts. An essayistic documentary in the form of a twenty-first century Arctic road-movie by professor Britt Kramvig (UiT) with philosopher Helen Verran (UiT) and filmmaker Rachel Gomez (Tromsø). Watch the Trailer

POLICY BRIEFING: Indigenous Education Strategy 2015 ReviewThe Northern Territory Government has endorsed a ten year strategy, A Share in the Future – Indigenous Education Strategy 2015-2024 in response to the recommendations from the Indigenous Education Review. The main objective of the strategy is to ensure that Indigenous students in the Northern Territory are both confident and successful in their education journeys and have real career choices and options, both within and beyond their communities. This presentation will provide an outline of the background data, the current actions being implemented in the first three years and some insights into the progress so far.

Potential Gains from Regional Cooperation and Trade of Electricity in South AsiaThe South Asia region is lagging behind many regions in the world in regional electricity cooperation and trading, despite the huge anticipated benefits. This study uses an electricity planning model that produces optimal expansion of electricity generation capacities and transmission interconnections in the long-term to quantify the benefits of unrestricted cross-border electricity trade in the South Asia during 2015–40. The study finds that the unrestricted electricity trade provision would save US$226 billion (US$9 billion per year) of electricity supply costs over the period. The ratio of the present value of benefits, in the form of reduction of fuel costs, to the present value of increased costs due to generation and interconnection would be 5.3. The provision would reduce regional power sector carbon dioxide emissions by 8 percent, mainly because of substitution of coal-based generation with hydro-based generation, although regional emissions would be well above current levels absent other policy interventions. To achieve these benefits, the region is estimated to add 95,000 megawatts of new cross-border transmission interconnection capacity.

Steven Bird- Newly appointed Adjunct with Northern Institute, University of Melbourne & University of California Berkeley, USA

Social Mobile Technologies forReconnecting Indigenous and Immigrant CommunitiesIn this presentation, Steven will report on new methods that promise to reconnect indigenous and immigrant communities across generations, language, and distance. Steven will also describe the work of the Aikuma Project to develop a multilingual storytelling app together with a face-to-face storytelling event format in which the cultural and linguistic treasures still present in urban communities are recognised and celebrated. In conclusion, Steven will report on a new collaboration with indigenous researchers in the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health on policies and practices for the design of social mobile apps intended for use in indigenous communities.

Some of my favourite things: An artist talk by Marina StrocchiMarina will take you through a slideshow of images of mainly paintings that illustrate some of the art that she admires most from ancient Mesopotamia to the central desert masters. Marinas artwork ‘Mystery Train’ is the Northern Institute graphic image that is used extensively in our marketing and publications since the Institute launch in 2011.

Internationalisation of Research Partnerships : Opportunities for working with University of Bergen, NorwayCharles Darwin University (CDU) and the University of Bergen (UoB) in Norway have recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding and a Memorandum of Agreement for Academic Cooperation. Referring to these memoranda, Sigmund Grønmo will talk about the importance of international university collaboration, for the development of academic quality as well as for dealing with the grand challenges of our time, such as climate change and other environmental issues, human rights issues including indigenous rights issues, global health, and poverty. He will give an overview of the profile and major activities of the University of Bergen, including key research areas, student numbers, international relations, and the annual Holberg Prize, which is administered by UoB. The purpose is to discuss perspectives and areas which might be of particular interest for future exchange and collaboration between CDU and UoB

Understanding the Dynamics of the Shanghai RankingThe emergence of international academic rankings is one of the most interesting phenomena in the field of comparative analysis of higher education. The growing influence of the Shanghai ranking (ARWU) led its many critics to show strong reluctance in using it as a source of analysis and improvement, mainly because it was generally thought that its results were not reproducible. This talk discusses the difficulties encountered when trying to reproduce the results of the Shanghai ranking and the path to overcome them. Once the dynamics of the ranking are understood we are in a position to use ARWU as a simple and effective benchmarking tool to analyse individual institutions as well as higher education systems worldwide. Some reactions to the annual publication of the ranking as well as prompted policy responses will be discussed. Finally, some useful comparative analysis of university research systems in the light of the Shanghai ranking results will be presented.

The value of translating and sharing your knowledge with the worldAt this presentation, Liz will share:

examples of how academics have shared their knowledge with a broader, non-expert audience (which includes not just the general public, but also potential industry & government funders)

tips on pitching article ideas to The Conversation and other media; plus

success stories from CDU, Menzies Health and other Australian experts who've reached a global audience with The Conversation.

In just four years, not-for-profit website TheConversation.com has grown from an Australian start-up to a global success. Its websites based in Australia, the UK, US and South Africa attract a monthly audience of 2.6 million users, and its articles have an eventual reach of 23 million average views in a month through social media and Creative Commons republication (from the ABC to The Washington Post and beyond). CDU is a member of The Conversation.”

22 October 2015

@ 10.30am

PDF unavailable

This event was not recorded

Sally Sievers - Northern Territory Anti-Discrimination Commissioner

Fair Go - No Go. What are the barriers for Aboriginal Territorians accessing the ADC?The seminar will be an opportunity to present the work of the Anti-Discrimination Commission, in particular in the area of race based complaints. To question and explore what the potential barriers may be for Aboriginal Territorians in using the ADC process. Review research from another complaint body and the research into civil legal needs of Aboriginal Territorians. As well as explore available research on why getting it right matters.Raise the potential research question what can we do, or what are the priority areas to work on to make ADC processes accessible to Aboriginal Territorians.

Current key themes in French demographyThis seminar will have two parts. The first part will provide an overview of the French Institute for Demographic Studies (INED) and present the main research themes that its researchers pursue. INED celebrated its 70th anniversary this September. It is one of the largest research institutes in demography/population studies worldwide. The second part will discuss two different projects I am involved in. One is the use of microsimulation models to look at kinship connections a person can have during their life (some such people can be are potential carers for those in need e.g. grand-parents for young children; adults for elderly people); these models can help better understand the role of the demographic variables in changes occurring in family structures. The other one deals with the end-of-life decisions and the survey results I conducted on this topic in 2005. I will discuss the context of this particular project, including parliamentary debates on the physician-assisted deaths at the time and the need to base the debates on representative data of the context of the end of life in France.

Workplace Justice, Trust, and Commitment: A Cross-Cultural InvestigationIn an increasingly globalized world, organisations that operate in more than one country are a substantial part of the world economy. It is therefore beneficial to understand the attitudes of employees in different countries and their impact on the organisation. One important area is organisational justice and its influence on employee attitudes (e.g., organisational commitment and organisational trust).In this study, we collected data from university employees across three Asia Pacific countries (i.e., China, South Korea and Australia). Based on the returned surveys, we examined the impacts of two types of organisational justice (distributive and procedural) on employees’ trust in, and commitment to, the organisation. We also explored whether trust in the organisation would mediate the relationships between organisational commitment and the two types of justice in all three countries. In Australia, we found that procedural justice was positively related to organisational trust and commitment, and trust in the organisation fully mediated the relationship between procedural justice and commitment. In China and South Korea, both types of justice were significantly related to organisational trust and commitment, and trust in the organisation fully mediated the relationship between procedural justice and organisational commitment. Trust in the organisation partially mediated the relationship between distributive justice and organisational commitment in China but fully mediated this relationship in South Korea. Implications for theory and for management practitioners are discussed, and areas for future investigation are identified.

“Student language learning needs in red dirt communities”The Cooperative Research Centre for Remote Economic Participation’s (CRC-REP) Remote Education Systems (RES) project has, over the last four years, gathered and analysed data from remote education stakeholders across Australia with a view to identifying ways that outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in remote schools, can be improved. Of the many findings that have emerged, the need for contextually responsive approaches to teaching stands out. In light of this finding we have developed lectures in the Remote Education Series, which consider what this means for workforce development, teacher qualities and standards, and curriculum matters.In this lecture we consider the language learning needs of Indigenous students in remote schools. As NAPLaN assessments and scores represent the most significant indicator of academic success, literacy teaching and learning for remote Indigenous students is prioritised. However, the focus on literacy often means overlooking the language learning needs of students who arrive at school as speakers of languages other than English and who must learn English as an Additional Language or Dialect at school. These students must develop competency and mastery in a new language and also become literate in it. To achieve this, teachers must teach both new language through the skills and content they teach, and teach new skills and content through the language the students are developing. However, education systems do not consistently select, prepare or resource their teaching staff for this task.This paper explores a number of questions important to responding to the language learning needs of students, particularly in the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia, where 65% of students speak a language other than English as their home language. This is true of 90% of students in schools in remote communities. What do we know of student’s language repertoires and the dynamic language ecologies they grow up in? What are the purposes for different languages and language skills in student’s developing repertoires? What programs, approaches or methods are available to education systems? How will new policy developments in the NT address their language learning needs? And finally, what role will the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers and the EAL/D Elaborations of the Australian Professional Standards have on addressing these questions?

29 September 2015

@ 12.30pm

PDF unavailable

This event was not recorded

Associate Professor Nicholas Reid - School of Behavioural, Cognitive and Social Sciences, University of New England

Aboriginal memories of inundation of the Australian coast dating from more than 7000 years agoDefinitions of oral tradition, especially those that view it in contrast with written history, typically portray it as fraught with problems of accuracy:"It is one thing to use folklore and oral tradition as a means of ascertaining or demonstrating what the members of an ethnic group believe (or once believed) about the world and their collective past. It is another thing entirely to use folklore and oral tradition as proof of the truth of what the group believes" (Simic, 2000). Commenting on the Kennewick Man case in the US, Simic made the specific claims: "Because of the central importance of folklore and oral tradition to an ethnic group's culture and identity, it is highly unlikely that any modern Native American tribe can have a "shared group identity" with a population that lived 9,200 years ago”; and "As a general rule, unwritten legends that refer to events more than 1,000 years in the past contain little, if any, historical truth". So can the oral traditions of preliterate peoples tell us anything factual about the distant past, or does the transmission of accurate information about real events inevitably become corrupted beyond historical usefulness?At the last Glacial Maximum about 22,000 BP the sea level was about 120 metres lower than present, rising to current levels about 7,000 yrs BP, and remaining fairly static since then. Changes in sea-levels around the Australian coast, from the late-Pleistocene through to the early-Holocene, are now fairly well established. The sensitivity of these changes to a range of processes, are also well mapped out, such that different parts of the Australian coast are understood to have undergone change at different times and rates (Lewis et al, 2013). Marine geographers can now point to specific parts of the Australian coast and say ‘The sea here was 45 metres lower than present levels at 8,500 BP’.This paper assembles a substantial body of Australian Aboriginal stories that touch on sea-level change. Some are straightforward descriptions of sea level rise events, others attribute inundations to the acts of ancestral beings or heroic figures. All however describe either places once visible being lost to sight, or places once reachable on foot becoming reachable only by swimming or paddling watercraft. There is a general absence of stories describing the opposite, the lowering of sea levels exposing land that was previously underwater. If these oral traditions are taken as describing factual sea level rise, they appear to describe events falling between 13,000 yrs and 7,000 years BP. The oral transmission of the accurate descriptions of known historical events across such time depths not only demands a rethink of the ways in which such traditions have previously been dismissed, but it also stands out as unprecedented anywhere else in the world. This invites a number of questions about cultural continuity and those features of Australian Aboriginal societies which may have facilitated such stable transmission.

Dr Murthy Mittinty - Research Fellow – Biostatistician, The University of Adelaide

Quantile regression: another take on multivariate dataWhen describing a single random variable we use a variety of measures such as mean, variance, 5th percentile, 25th percentile, 50th percentile, 75th percentiles, inter quartile range, simple range (min and max), and skewness. Even when plotting the Univariate graphs we use a variety of plots such as histograms, boxplot and tree plot. However, when it comes to analysing bivariate and multivariate data we tend to limit ourselves to a single technique: mean based analysis. Ordinary least square (OLS) regression, which allows estimating the conditional average effect, is a common method for understanding bivariate and multivariate associations. This method of analysis has dominated the data analysis scene for more than three centuries for its simplicity, ease of computational manipulability and interpretability. The focus was on averages as it was hard enough to obtain good estimates of average effects in the dark ages before computation. Further, as pointed out by Tukey, commercial statistical software as it existed was not set up to be modified, even though it often did not answer the research question of interest,.Estimating mean and variance or just means are sufficient when the distribution of the variable of interest is either normal or binary or Poisson. When distributions are skewed, transforming data might help achieve normality and the use of OLS might result in a good fit, however the interpretations can be outlandish. Moreover, when distributions are skewed, bimodal, or heavy tailed, estimation of mean alone of bivariate/multivariate associations gives an incomplete picture about the variable.With this understanding, this presentation introduces an alternative to the OLS regressions called Quantile Regression. Unlike OLS this method does not require strict assumptions of normality and it allows analysing the distribution of the variable of interest, in its entirety. Quantile regressions are best used for analysing skewed and heavy tailed data that are common in epidemiological and medical data. I will also detail mechanics of quantile regression in the presentation.

Red Dirt Teaching – developing the right workforce for remote schoolsThe Remote Education Systems (RES) project, within the Cooperative Research Centre for Remote Economic Participation, has gathered and analysed qualitative data directly from over 230 remote education stakeholders and from more than 700 others through surveys over the last four years (see http://crc-rep.com/remote-education-systems).Four research questions guided the study:

What is education in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities?

How should teaching and learning look to achieve ‘success’ as defined by this standpoint?

What would an effective education system in remote Australia look like?

The findings show the significance of developing and fostering local identity in schooling, community involvement in education, the role of home language and culture in teaching and learning, multilingual learning and English as a second language pedagogy, along with cultural safety and well-being. This seminar details and relates findings to gaps in existing research, policy and implementation in education delivery, and explores innovative ways to develop the workforce to respond to the remote context.In a following seminar ‘Teacher quality and qualities: what matters for remote schools?’ (School of Education, Charles Darwin University, August 21) we further develop this topic, examining the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers and their role in addressing the workforce development for remote schools.

Older northern Australians: Is an understanding of resilience relevant to providing services to older people in northern Australia?Resilience has been studied extensively amongst adults in the workforce, yet for people in retirement and later life, we know relatively little about the determining factors of resilience and how it manifests.What do I mean by resilience?It is the ability to ‘bounce back’ and thrive in hard times. It involves the capacity to draw on one’s own personal strengths, as well as external social and psychological supports and buffers. ‘Hard times’ for older people is associated with transitions such as from work to retirement, from living independently at home to a residential aged care facility, or from being in an intimate relationship to being alone, as a result of death of one’s partner.Because of the unique nature of the experience in this age cohort, the determinants of their resilience are likely to include some unique features. Moreover the resilience in older people is likely to manifest differently – i.e. have a different quality and expression. If both of these are true then the current findings about resilience in working aged people, will have limited applicability to an older cohort.In proposing that more research is needed, I will discuss what is known about resilience and why it is important to increase resilience amongst people living in modern societies. I will also discuss the need for better understanding of differences in determinants, as well as manifestations of resilience, as a function of cohort (e.g. older age), context (e.g. remote small community versus urban environments) and perhaps culture.

Will You Compete to Mobilize Your Knowledge? Learning on Indigenous Biodiversity-led Adaptations among Native Communities of Eastern Himalayas, IndiaWorld over, climate change and socio-economic stressors have posed grave threats to the biocultural diversity and livelihood security of many Indigenous and marginalized communities. Understanding the perceptions of these communities, who mostly live in risk-prone remote locations, about the climate variability induced alterations in their agro-ecosystems and the challenges posed by other stressors such as globalization and market distortions becomes important. These changes have not only increased their external dependency to access the essential livelihood support systems but have also reduced the resilience of their social-ecological systems.In this deliberation, the focus is on the Adi tribe of Arunachal Pradesh (eastern Himalayas), India, who live in remote and fragile mountainous ecology and characterized by traditional social-ecological systems. This study used two novel participatory approaches namely ‘biodiversity contest’ and ‘recipe contest’ to mobilize the Adi community to record observations on issues related to climate variability and the Indigenous knowledge-led livelihood adaptations in changing scenarios. Results indicated that climate variability and other stressors are adversely affecting the local biodiversity and livelihoods of the Adi community. The study was further helpful in locating the processes and mechanisms which play a crucial role in resilient adaptive practices. Observations showed weak resilience in the livelihood support programmes, based on top-to-bottom policies and approaches (with poor governance), extended to the Adi by different government agencies. These programmes are not only incompatible with the existing socio-political milieu in the region, but are also causing further erosion in the already threatened social institutions and knowledge networks of Adi. Thus, it is increasing the difference between resilience and vulnerability (both climatic and socioeconomic). The study opened the pathways for working on co-production of knowledge on sustainable adaptive practices for further improving the social-ecological resilience of the native communities, such as Adi.

Researching demographic impacts from the incarceration of Indigenous people in the NTThe latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data on prisoners in Australia revealed that in the Northern Territory 1,494 inmates were incarcerated, of which 85.6 per cent were Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders. This is the highest proportion to be found in Australia. This research is attempting to address the question ‘What does the large and increasing numbers of indigenous people in prison at any point in time mean for the economic, demographic and social fabric of small remote communities in the Northern Territory and beyond?‘. In this seminar we provide a summary of the latest data, an overview of the current body of knowledge and an outline of our research to date.